Apple and Panasonic Are Top Performers in RESCUECOM's
Third Annual Computer Reliability Report
Report Helps Consumers Make Informed Choices When Purchasing a Computer This Holiday Season SYRACUSE, N.Y., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- RESCUECOM (http://www.rescuecom.com), the nation's premier information technology services company, today announced the results of its third annual RESCUECOM Computer Reliability Report, an unbiased analysis that compares computer vendors' market share with consumer service call data from RESCUECOM's 1-800-RESCUE-PC call center. Results of the report -- based on a sample of more than 36,000 service calls to RESCUECOM -- provide computer users with unique insight about the likelihood that they will require support beyond what is provided by the computer maker's warranty. "Computers are an important investment and in today's economy, more than ever, it's important for consumers to know the reliability of the product they are purchasing," said David A. Milman, founder and CEO of RESCUECOM. "We created the RESCUECOM reliability survey to inform computer users about what they can expect before -- and after -- they purchase a new computer. "RESCUECOM has no allegiance to any hardware manufacturer (we call this being manufacturer agnostic), so we can provide an objective and unbiased rating of computer hardware reliability based on real-world experience." The Report calculates the "Reliability Score" for each computer vendor based on the calculated difference between overall U.S. market share, from January 2008 to October 2008, and the percentage of calls requesting service received by RESCUECOM's call center. Higher scores indicate that fewer calls for service were received for the specific computer vendor versus expected levels based upon market share estimates (scores are in parentheses).
-- Apple (700)
-- Panasonic (489)
-- Lenovo (393)
-- Toshiba (299)
-- HP (184)
Reliability Scores are based on a comparison of RESCUECOM's call center data with IDC's third quarter U.S. PC Shipments report: November 2008. Other notable findings from the data include: -- Apple ran away with the number-one spot in the reliability survey once again, beating its closest competitor by more than 200 points. -- In a climate in which notebook sales overtook desktop sales, Panasonic made huge market share gains while keeping reliability high -- thereby rocketing the company to the number-two spot in the ranking. -- Toshiba, not even a performer last year, took the number-four spot, beating the next closest vendor by more than 100 points. -- HP, also not a performer last year, took fifth place, removing DELL from the top 5 reliability report. -- Lesser-known brands and generic PC's performed notably lower than better-known brands. "Based on the results, consumers should stick with known brands and carefully research extended warranty options," said Milman. In response to the rapidly changing PC marketplace, RESCUECOM plans to issue quarterly updates to its Reliability Report from this point forward. For more information, visit http://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC. About RESCUECOM RESCUECOM provides on-site computer repair and support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. RESCUECOM services everything from home computers to super computers, wireless Internet to global networks, hardware to software, e-mail to enterprise resource planning (ERP). In addition to one-time, on-site solutions, RESCUECOM provides ongoing IT management services for businesses.
I do criticize RescueCom's assumption that Apple Mac users would be as likely to call them when in need of help as PC owners. None of the PC manufacturers have a network of Apple Stores with Genius Bars. Some of the differential can be accounted for by that discrepancy. On the other hand, as Ars Technica observed, the figures reported by RescueCom are very close to the user survey produced by Consumers' Report.
Apple tech support ranks #1 yet again with Consumer Reports
By Chris Foresman
Published: May 06, 2008 - 11:53AM CT While Apple rarely receives a "best buy" rating from Consumer Reports, ostensibly due to price, the magazine has historically rated its tech support top notch. As pointed out by the Mac Observer, the latest round up from Consumer Reports keeps Apple in the top spot, with Lenovo a distant second for laptops and Dell and even further distant second for desktops. The report included information from over 10,000 computer owners that sought tech support between September 2006 and January 2008. When the data was tallied, Apple scored an 83 percent and 81 percent satisfaction rating for laptops and desktops, respectively. In contrast, Lenovo scored just 66 percent for its laptop support while Dell trailed Apple 25 points in its desktop support with just a 56 percent rating. It what seems like a blot on computer tech support in general, the average rating among Apple's competition is about 53 percent. So while many of Apple's customers are pleased with the support they get, the same is true for only half of the competition's customers. The report also noted some additional bits that helped Apple rank as a "Top Supporter." Apple was rated the most reliable brand with only 12 percent of computers that experienced a major problem in the last four years. Also, about 90 percent of problems were solved for free by consulting a Genius at one of Apple's many retail stores. And, while Consumer Reports generally recommends against extended warranties, the magazine does make an exception for Apple Care. While Apple's standard warranty includes 90 days of free phone support in addition to the standard one year parts and labor coverage, Apple Care extends all coverage to three years. Anecdotally, in the 10 years or so that I've owned Macs, I have had four machines that have been nearly rock-solid. When I did have a problem, though, the support I got was great. While many complain about the alleged Apple Tax included with the price of a new Mac, Apple's top-rated support is worth considering when looking at price comparisons. You do get what you pay for.
Apple's reliability rating is echoed in the PC Magazine annual user survey of 10,000 computer users:
The Best (and Worst) Tech Support in America: Desktops 07.29.08
No Windows [notebook] vendor can touch the favorable scores Apple received across the board. The Mac maker's scores are similar to those it received last year in our survey, albeit with a slightly reduced tech-support score for desktops (from 8.4 down to 8.1). Apple's major improvements came in desktops less than a year old, where the overall score was up to 9.4 (from 9.2 last year) and the percentage needing repair was down to 4 percent (from 9 percent last year).
The Best (and Worst) Tech Support in America: Notebooks 07.29.08
By Sascha Segan and Eric Griffith Apple's streak continues. Its scores improved or equaled last year's numbers across the board. Readers rated repairs to their Apple laptops at 8.8 this year, up from 8.1—they obviously appreciated Apple's fixes.
I note that the raw data shows that the Acer notebooks had a lower frequency of needing repair among all notebooks than did the Apple notebooks and equaled the Apple in notebooks less than a year old. I've already posted the American Consumer Satisfaction Index report for this year on this thread showing Apple with a score 13% higher than its next nearest competitor. All of these reports completely disprove your assertion that Apple hardware is no better than the competition. |